I have the Region 2 UK set, and it looks exactly like that. There's a veil of distortion over the whole thing, a linear structure that you can see in the screencaps. The US set used the same masters but that 'veil' is even more apparent. I suspect it's because they compressed them more, but I could be wrong. In any case, the quality is very disappointing. The German set does indeed look a lot better. I wonder how they achieved those results.

Here's hoping they find the negs one day soon!

Michael

Edit: I will say this. The color on the UK set looks the most natural to me as far as skin tones. The German set seems skewed towards magenta. However, the UK set seems to be skewed towards blue, considering the bluish whites._________________Quite Quite Fantastic! The Avengers for Modern Viewers. It's the latest book on both The Avengers and The New Avengers. Available in softcover as of 1st May 2018 on Lulu.com

I will say this. The color on the UK set looks the most natural to me as far as skin tones. The German set seems skewed towards magenta. However, the UK set seems to be skewed towards blue, considering the bluish whites.

NB - The Cat Amongst the Pigeons grabs are the ones that are representative of 25 of the 26 episodes of TNA, and to my eyes the skin tones are best on those.

In that last set of photos, the correct one color-wise is the UK one. I'll tell you why. Is Steed's shirt blue or white? My conclusion is that it's a pale blue as in the UK photo, because if the whole capture were skewed towards blue, then Purdey's white scarf would become blue also, but it remains white. On the other hand, if the color were skewed in the opposite direction towards orange or magenta, then the blue in Steed's shirt would be cancelled out by its color complement, as indeed it is in the German and French sets. And Purdey's scarf remains white. Also, note that the red wall is not so much more saturated in the French and German sets as skewed more towards a red-orange, which again indicates a color balance towards warmer tones.

The other examples vary, and I agree that the "Cat Amongst the Pigeons" example is the best overall, but generally the French and German sets are more skewed towards the magenta or orange range. In "Obsession", the UK set is more skewed towards blue, which gives it a very cool appearance. In one example, the sky appears to be blue although it is overcast. The proper color for an overcast sky is white. Martin Shaw's white scarf is also a radioactive cyan. And in the German set for "Obsession", the skew is towards green, and everything has a slightly greenish cast, including skin tones.

Actually, the more I look over them, they're all over the place!

Michael_________________Quite Quite Fantastic! The Avengers for Modern Viewers. It's the latest book on both The Avengers and The New Avengers. Available in softcover as of 1st May 2018 on Lulu.com

For U.S. friends I recommend getting a region free blu ray player and importing the uk avengers blu ray sets. They are fantastic!!

What is the possible licensing issue in regards to The New Avengers??

I don't even have a copy of that US blu ray set. Why bother when the UK set is so superior? Yes, a multi-region player is the only kind to have. There are far too many great blu rays that are not or unlikely to be released in the US.

It does seem odd that the UK dvd set could not have offered better prints. To be fair most of them seem ok, with the exception of The Eagle's nest which did surprise me when I saw the poor grainy quality. In fact my old VHS copy has a much sharper picture! The others are better, but still far from perfect. I have a glimmer of hope that we'll see a blu ray release, if Studio Canal are actively seeking all original negatives. TNA must be the only high profile cult TV series not to get a blu ray release so far.

I am also really surprised at the differing quality of the prints. I haven't watched TNA dvds for some time but i will now have a look. I have the UK sets, (just wondered if the most recent UK set with the 2 commentaries by Gareth Hunt & Brian Clemens-both sadly gone now-is the same prints as earlier set), the French "kiosk" set, the US A&E set and the Australian set. Does seem a bit mad to have so many looking back but a fan is a fan so there you go!